Cleanup underway a day after powerful storms pound Northeast

(Larry Deklinski/The News-Item via AP). A Freightliner tractor-trailer, which was overturned by strong winds associated with a thunderstorm, rests on a barrier on a bridge crossing the Susquehanna River at Danville, Pa., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The d...

(Larry Deklinski/The News-Item via AP). Emergency personnel look at a Freightliner tractor-trailer, which was overturned by strong winds associated with a thunderstorm, while crossing the Susquehanna River at Danville, Pa., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Th...

(AP Photo/Donald King). Commuters are stranded during the evening commute at Grand Central Terminal in New York on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The Metro-North commuter railroad said Tuesday evening that downed trees across the tracks had caused it to suspen...

NEW YORK (AP) - Residents in the Northeast cleaned up Wednesday, a day after powerful storms pounded the region with torrential rain and marble-sized hail, leaving at least four people dead and more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power.

Connecticut officials said two people in New Fairfield and Danbury were killed Tuesday in separate accidents when trees fell on their trucks, including a woman whose 3-year-old child escaped injury. In New York, falling trees in Newburgh claimed the lives of an 11-year-old girl in a parked car and a woman who was driving.

The National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday night that at least five tornadoes had touched down; three in New York and two in Connecticut.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said damage was being assessed across the state for possible disaster declarations, with the most hard-hit areas being in the southwestern part of the state.

"There is a tremendous amount of damage," he said. "I think there are going to be a lot of people without power for days."

The storms downed trees and power lines across the region. Several lightning strikes led to structure fires in New Jersey and Massachusetts. New York's Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. reported 78 mph wind gusts on Tuesday and about 1,000 lighting strikes per hour.

The National Weather Service said the strong thunderstorms created a small weather-generated tsunami off the New Jersey coast. Known as a meteotsunami, it resulted in fluctuating water levels for several hours. But there were no reports of damage from the abnormally high tides reported in areas from Perth Amboy in New Jersey to Delaware's Fenwick Island.

Roads in many towns were impassible and some schools canceled classes on Wednesday due to the damage.

Airlines also canceled and delayed flights in and out of the region.

In New York City on Tuesday evening, thousands of commuters were stranded in Grand Central Terminal after rail lines were temporarily suspended due to downed trees on the tracks. Concourses were packed with passengers waiting for service to resume.

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